Lancaster County, NE
Housing, jobs, water, deposits and federal obligations for this county, each figure with the release it came from. Internal point 40.78, -96.69.
Assembled 2026-10-19. Read the brief.
- 70th pct · 911th of 3,063 US counties · median $230,451
- 87th pct · 12th of 89 Nebraska counties · median $214,386
- counties in the Lincoln metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 2 counties in the Lincoln metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 51st pct · 1,495th of 3,062 US counties · median +2.9%
- 42nd pct · 52nd of 89 Nebraska counties · median +3.5%
- counties in the Lincoln metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 2 counties in the Lincoln metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 29th pct · 959th of 1,358 US counties · median $1,506
- 46th pct · 8th of 14 Nebraska counties · median $1,287
- counties in the Lincoln metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 2 counties in the Lincoln metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 94th pct · 189th of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 98th pct · 2nd of 93 Nebraska counties · median 2,151
- counties in the Lincoln metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 2 counties in the Lincoln metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 75th pct · 777th of 3,221 US counties · median $1,039
- 94th pct · 6th of 93 Nebraska counties · median $970
- counties in the Lincoln metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 2 counties in the Lincoln metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 62nd pct · 1,162nd of 3,063 US counties · median 4.2
- 71st pct · 26th of 89 Nebraska counties · median 4.0
- counties in the Lincoln metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 2 counties in the Lincoln metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
Typical home value divided by the average annual wage of one covered job.
A percentile here is a min-max scaling of average rank: the smallest published value in the cohort is 0 and the largest is 100, and tied values share the average of the ranks they span. It is not the share of entities below the value, so 0 means smallest, not none below. Entities that did not publish the metric are outside the cohort entirely and are counted in neither the rank nor its denominator.
Home values #
Typical home $299,768 (Sep 2026), +2.9% over one year, +23.5% over five
- 70th pct · 911th of 3,063 US counties · median $230,451
- 87th pct · 12th of 89 Nebraska counties · median $214,386
- counties in the Lincoln metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 2 counties in the Lincoln metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Lancaster County, NE | $299,768 · +2.9% 1-yr |
Zillow Home Value Index (ZHVI), typical value of homes in the 35th to 65th percentile, smoothed and seasonally adjusted; a model estimate of value, not a sale price. Data through Zillow Research.
Rents #
Typical rent $1,287/mo (Sep 2026), +1.6% over one year; price-to-rent 19.4
- 29th pct · 959th of 1,358 US counties · median $1,506
- 46th pct · 8th of 14 Nebraska counties · median $1,287
- counties in the Lincoln metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 2 counties in the Lincoln metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Lancaster County, NE | $1,287/mo · +1.6% 1-yr |
Zillow Observed Rent Index (ZORI), smoothed, all homes and multifamily; price-to-rent = typical home / (typical rent × 12).
What the typical home costs to carry #
Principal and interest of $1,660 a month on $299,768 at 7.40%, against an average weekly wage worth $5,196 a month: 32.0% of one job’s pay.
- payment = P·r / (1 − (1+r)^−n), P = $299,768 × 80% = $239,814, r = 7.40%/12 (Freddie Mac PMMS via FRED, 2026-10-15), n = 360 → $1,660/mo principal and interest
- wage share = payment / (avg weekly wage $1,199 × 52 / 12 = $5,196) = 32% of one average job's pay (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all covered jobs)
- years of wages = $299,768 / ($1,199 × 52) = 4.8
- price-to-rent = $299,768 / ($1,287 × 12) = 19.4
The wage is one covered job’s average, not a household’s income, so this is the share of a single paycheque and not a mortgage underwriting ratio.
Estimate. Principal and interest on the typical home with 20% down over 30 years at this week's Freddie Mac average rate; compared with the average weekly wage of all jobs covered by unemployment insurance in the area (BLS QCEW), which is pay per job, not household income.
Jobs & wages #
173,795 jobs at 9,891 employers (2026 Q1); -0.6% jobs and +2.0% average weekly wage over the year
- 94th pct · 189th of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 98th pct · 2nd of 93 Nebraska counties · median 2,151
- counties in the Lincoln metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 2 counties in the Lincoln metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Lancaster County, NE | 173,795 jobs · $1,199/wk · -0.6% YoY |
| NAICS sector | Jobs | Avg weekly wage | Location quotient | Jobs over the year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Health care and social assistance | 27,569 | $1,162 | 1.05 | +2.2% |
| Retail trade | 17,042 | $756 | 1.01 | -0.8% |
| Accommodation and food services | 15,564 | $435 | 1.00 | +2.8% |
| Manufacturing | 13,415 | $1,398 | 0.96 | -5.0% |
| Construction | 10,183 | $1,323 | 1.12 | +1.4% |
| Professional and technical services | 9,657 | $1,541 | 0.81 | -4.4% |
| Transportation and warehousing | 8,492 | $1,477 | 1.16 | -2.2% |
| Administrative and waste services | 7,004 | $1,023 | 0.71 | +2.6% |
| Finance and insurance | 6,242 | $1,995 | 0.88 | -14.0% |
| Other services | 5,825 | $859 | 1.12 | +8.6% |
| Information | 3,767 | $1,961 | 1.18 | -0.7% |
| Arts, entertainment and recreation | 3,125 | $437 | 1.09 | -17.3% |
BLS Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, all ownerships, total covered employment in the quarter's third month; over-the-year changes as published. Suppressed cells stay blank.
Drought #
No drought class at this point (USDM covers the United States only)
Sites found: 5, searched within 0 km of this place’s internal point. That is a disc around a point, not the area itself: sites outside the boundary are included, and sites inside it further than 0 km away are not.
US Drought Monitor current week; the highest class of any polygon containing the point.
Reservoirs #
Surface water layer not loaded
Sites found: 0, searched within 150 km of this place’s internal point. That is a disc around a point, not the area itself: sites outside the boundary are included, and sites inside it further than 150 km away are not.
Σ(capacity × percent full) / Σ capacity over TWDB reservoirs within 150 km. Texas only; elsewhere USGS reservoir elevation/storage is listed without a capacity to normalise by.
Stream gauges #
Surface water layer not loaded
Sites found: 0, searched within 75 km of this place’s internal point. That is a disc around a point, not the area itself: sites outside the boundary are included, and sites inside it further than 75 km away are not.
USGS latest readings screened against EPA freshwater criteria (DO ≥ 5 mg/L, pH 6.5–9, conductance, turbidity, temperature); NWS flood categories where a NWPS gauge is co-located.
Groundwater #
No USGS monitoring wells within 75 km (or above 1,500 km)
Sites found: 0, searched within 75 km of this place’s internal point. That is a disc around a point, not the area itself: sites outside the boundary are included, and sites inside it further than 75 km away are not.
USGS latest daily water levels. A single latest reading says where the table is, not which way it is moving; select a well for its 365-day trace.
Water stress #
low (0.00)
Σ wᵢ·termᵢ / Σ wᵢ = 0.35×0.00 / 0.35
Banks & federal dollars #
$14.9 bn in deposits at 113 offices of 31 banks (SOD June 2026); HHI 1,916, highly concentrated. $2.6 bn federal obligations in FY2026 (direct payments $1.8 bn, grants $559.1 m), $15,227 per covered job
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Union Bank and Trust Company | $5.9 bn · 39.5% share · 19 offices | |
| Wells Fargo Bank, National Association | $1.5 bn · 9.9% share · 5 offices | |
| Pinnacle Bank | $1.5 bn · 9.8% share · 12 offices | |
| Lancaster, NE | $2.6 bn FY2026 · $15,227/job | |
| MULTIPLE RECIPIENTS | $1.6 bn · top recipient FY2026 |
| Institution | Deposits | Share | Offices |
|---|---|---|---|
| Union Bank and Trust Company | $5,876,574,000 | 39.5% | 19 |
| Wells Fargo Bank, National Association | $1,472,461,000 | 9.9% | 5 |
| Pinnacle Bank | $1,463,473,000 | 9.8% | 12 |
| West Gate Bank | $1,171,616,000 | 7.9% | 6 |
| Cornhusker Bank | $826,977,000 | 5.6% | 8 |
| U.S. Bank National Association | $766,267,000 | 5.2% | 7 |
| First State Bank Nebraska | $467,485,000 | 3.1% | 4 |
| First National Bank of Omaha | $384,422,000 | 2.6% | 3 |
| First Interstate Bank | $286,641,000 | 1.9% | 5 |
| Security First Bank | $284,384,000 | 1.9% | 3 |
Deposit concentration is 1,916 across 30 banks, which the 1995 Department of Justice bank merger screen calls highly concentrated.
HHI = Σ (share %)² over 30 banks with deposits in the county = 39.5² + 9.9² + 9.8² + … (27 more) = 1,916
FDIC Summary of Deposits: deposits at every insured office as of June 30, annual; HHI is the sum of squared county deposit shares (DOJ 1995 bank merger screen: 1000 / 1800). USAspending: obligations by place of performance for the latest complete federal fiscal year (Oct 1 to Sep 30), what agencies committed, not what they paid out; recipients are legal entities. Per-job divides obligations by BLS QCEW covered employment.
Federal obligations #
USAspending place-of-performance obligations for FY2026, by awarding agency.
| Awarding agency | Obligations |
|---|---|
| Social Security Administration | $1,384,238,798 |
| Department of Education | $629,461,309 |
| Department of Veterans Affairs | $200,769,950 |
| Department of Homeland Security | $151,073,538 |
| Railroad Retirement Board | $59,862,254 |
| Department of Transportation | $57,756,738 |
| Department of Health and Human Services | $48,664,082 |
| National Science Foundation | $42,698,063 |
| Department of Agriculture | $42,145,054 |
| Department of Housing and Urban Development | $31,099,578 |
| Department of Justice | $16,662,755 |
| General Services Administration | $5,711,975 |
That is $15,227 per covered job, against 173,795 jobs in the 2026 Q1 QCEW quarter.
per job = FY2026 obligations $2.6 bn / 173,795 covered jobs (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all ownerships) = $15,227
USAspending obligations are recorded where the work is performed, so a prime award performed here is counted here even when the recipient is headquartered elsewhere. Recipients are legal entities, never people.
National context, not this county #
These are United States, single-gauge, single-state and port series. None of them is keyed to this county.
| Series | Latest | As of | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mississippi River at Memphis, stage · ft | not published | not published | |
| Mississippi River at St. Louis, stage · ft | not published | not published | |
| Ohio River at Louisville, stage · ft | 17.95 | 2026-10-18 | -2.6% |
| Missouri River at St. Joseph, stage · ft | not published | not published | |
| Colorado River below Hoover Dam, flow (Hoover releases) · ft³/s | 5,170.00 | 2026-02-05 | -25.3% |
| Texas reservoirs, statewide percent full · % | 73.84 | 2026-10-19 | not published |
| Laredo truck crossings, monthly · trucks | 258,700.00 | 2026-08-01 | -0.4% |
| Los Angeles + Long Beach container volume, annual · TEU | 10,513,167.00 | 2023-01-01 | -13.5% |
| Containerships waiting for a berth, all US ports · ships | 7.00 | 2026-10-13 | +133.3% |
| Shanghai to Los Angeles container rate · $ per 40 ft box | 7,848.00 | 2026-09-01 | +14.9% |
| US diesel retail price · $ per gallon | unavailable | not published | |
| WTI crude oil, spot · $ per barrel | 101.91 | 2026-10-14 | +1.0% |
| 30-year fixed mortgage rate · % | 7.40 | 2026-10-15 | +0.0% |
| Housing starts, annual rate · thousands of units | 1,275.00 | 2026-08-01 | -2.6% |
| Building permits, annual rate · thousands of units | 1,403.00 | 2026-08-01 | -2.1% |
| Case-Shiller US home price index · index, Jan 2000 = 100 | 337.31 | 2026-07-01 | +0.1% |
| Unemployment rate · % | 4.20 | 2026-09-01 | +2.4% |
| US goods and services trade balance, monthly · $ millions | -105,572.00 | 2026-08-01 | -13.7% |
| Retail sales excluding food services, monthly · $ millions | 652,115.00 | 2026-09-01 | +0.7% |
The indicator registry has no county-keyed series and no geographic selection: every entry is national, a named gauge, a single state or a port. They are here as the backdrop the county's own numbers move against, and they are never this county's readings.
What changed #
Lancaster County, NE: 11 findings, 1 at a watch level and 10 noted
watchLancaster County, NE's covered employment is -0.6% against a year earlier, a watch level here: covered employment below the same quarter a year earlier (BLS QCEW over-the-year percent change, as published; not an official level). The previous published period is not in this table, so this is a standing level rather than a change.
Period 2026 Q1.Show the arithmetic
- test: jobs.yoy.emp = -0.6 < 0
BLS QCEW over-the-year percent change, as published; not an official level
noteLancaster County, NE's average weekly wage was 2.0% higher than the same quarter a year earlier in 2026 Q1, on BLS QCEW's published over-the-year change.
Period 2026 Q1.Show the arithmetic
- +2 % = BLS QCEW over-the-year percent change for 2026 Q1, as published
- the newest QCEW file carries no year-earlier level, so no move from one level to another is printed
BLS QCEW over-the-year percent change, as published
noteLancaster County, NE's covered employment was 0.6% lower than the same quarter a year earlier in 2026 Q1, on BLS QCEW's published over-the-year change.
Period 2026 Q1.Show the arithmetic
- -0.6 % = BLS QCEW over-the-year percent change for 2026 Q1, as published
- the newest QCEW file carries no year-earlier level, so no move from one level to another is printed
BLS QCEW over-the-year percent change, as published
noteLancaster County, NE's typical asking rent fell 0.4% from $1,292 in August 2026 to $1,287 in September 2026, on Zillow ZORI.
Period 2026-09.Show the arithmetic
- -0.4% = (1286.5053322395406 - 1292.1940429124647) / 1292.1940429124647 × 100
- 1286.5053322395406 = Zillow ZORI, 2026-09
- 1292.1940429124647 = Zillow ZORI, 2026-08
noteLancaster County, NE's typical home value rose 0.3% from $299,017 in August 2026 to $299,768 in September 2026, on Zillow ZHVI.
Period 2026-09.Show the arithmetic
- +0.3% = (299767.6633152061 - 299017.23277453525) / 299017.23277453525 × 100
- 299767.6633152061 = Zillow ZHVI, 2026-09
- 299017.23277453525 = Zillow ZHVI, 2026-08
Read all 11 findings in the full brief
Every finding is produced by a fixed rule table and a fixed sentence for each rule. Nothing here is generated prose.